Woman Power Magazine Editor Kang Suyeon (1)
Woman Power Magazine Editor Kang Suyeon (1)
18
For some reason, Yoon-hyeok Sunbae, who had fired himself up, stayed behind after regular training ended from that day on to do extra training with me.
No, wait. To be honest, it was closer to him sticking by my side while I tried to do extra training, constantly explaining his own experiences or playstyle—whether you'd call it tactical guidance or spilling his know-how.
'What the hell. Why is this Sunbae so motivated?'
When I looked at him in confusion, Sunbae would smile and say,
"Yeah. You're saying you're still lacking, right? Good. I'll teach you with everything I've got."
...nodding his head with a satisfied look.
What on earth is this?
It was annoying having a Sunbae pointlessly burning with a sense of achievement, but surprisingly, the results weren't bad. Actually, they were so good it was suspicious.
"Hong Min-jun! That's it! That's how you're supposed to move!!"
It was to the point where I was even receiving praise from the Coach, who always just yelled at us during practice matches.
The only downside was that my stats didn't go up after that day. It would've been perfect if my stats just went up. Still, I confirmed that I could raise them through my own effort, so it wasn't bad.
4 days passed like that.
Daytime was regular training according to the team schedule, evening was extra training with Yoon-hyeok Sunbae, and night was teasing Jigyeong Noona—after days filled with that, the day of the 2nd match finally arrived.
"Move, move! Pack your gear properly, and don't sleep on the bus. Seongsil University is close. Don't go falling asleep and ruining your biorhythms; listen to some music or something. Got it?"
Urged on by the Coach, I boarded the tour bus provided by the school.
Today was the 2nd match of the league and our first away game.
The opponent was Seongsil University, an hour away.
Kang Su-yeon shifted her phone to her other hand.
"E-Editor-in-chief... that is... the W-Women's Student Council at Seongsil University has also been shut down..."
—Hey!!
Even though she had braced herself, the shout that pierced through her hand and rang loudly in her ear almost made her drop the phone.
—Heyyy!! Are you actually saying that right now!? Who's the executive of the Women's Student Council there! You need to contact the executives and hear how to revive it!!
"B-But they said it was shut down by a student vote, so there's n-no possibility of it being revived..."
—Grr... Grrr...!!
At the snorting pig-like sounds coming from the other side of the phone, Kang Su-yeon felt like she was going to burst into tears.
'Shit. I'm the one who wants to cry. What am I supposed to do about it being shut down by a student vote!!'
Tears welled up from the overwhelming sense of injustice, but the winning weapon for women, "crying first to win," doesn't work on a female boss. Su-yeon silently waited for her fate, hoping for a lenient punishment.
—Oh, what to do, what to do... We have to go to print next week, so get at least one story, one story! Got it!? Somehow, get at least one article that can boost the spirits of our anxious readers!!
"E-Editor-in-chief! They said the Women's Student Council was shut down, where am I supposed to find a story in this countryside? I'd rather go back up to Seoul and find one."
Despite Kang Su-yeon's desperate plea, the Editor-in-chief didn't stop oinking... no, snorting, and then shrieked.
—It's a regional special, so what are you going to do by printing a Seoul article!! No. Somehow, get a story from there!!
"Editor-in-chief!!"
—I don't know! Is this my job? Anyway, solve it! If you don't send it by tomorrow, expect to lose your desk!!
The "what-to-do-what-to-do" sounds faded away, and then, beep, the call was cut off.
Kang Su-yeon stared blankly at the screen of her phone, where the call had ended.
'You fucking bitch... this is your job, isn't it....'
The magazine that has to go to print next week is about to have a hole in it, so how could it not be the Editor-in-chief's job? Then why is she the Editor-in-chief? Because she's the president's niece? ...Right. That's it.
Su-yeon felt wronged.
Just yesterday. Wasn't it the Editor-in-chief who urged her to go down quickly, saying there was a story?
She had come down abruptly without any preparation due to the Editor-in-chief's fiery urging, but what story? The Women's Student Council had been completely shut down, so what kind of story could there be?
Ah. I guess there is one.
Finding some executive somehow and doing an interview saying, 'The last remaining Women's Student Council in this region has also been shut down~ It was an overwhelming student vote result, so there's no possibility of revival~'
Of course, the moment it's printed in the magazine, it'll explode.
The bulletin board, the homepage, the company phones... anyway, with oinking sounds coming from everywhere, it'll explode in every way.
The company, and Su-yeon too.
Well, I don't know about the company, but it's self-evident that at least Su-yeon's desk will be shut down just like the Women's Student Councils across the country.
Kang Su-yeon stared blankly at the darkened smartphone screen and then trudged away.
Her shoulders ached as if they were about to pop out from the weight of the bag containing the telephoto camera, camcorder, and voice recorder she had prepared so carefully.
Kkirik.
The door of the old, used Morning she had been scammed into buying—no, purchased—from her ex-boyfriend who was a used car salesman when she first stepped into society, made that unpleasant sound again today.
"Nothing ever goes right."
Sitting in the driver's seat with a hollow expression, she turned the ignition,
Peeeeeee-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi—
Peeeeeee-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi——
Only the sound of the ignition rang out loudly.
Her old trusty steed continued its work stoppage more persistently than usual, as if it didn't want to work anymore.
"Th-this... ugh, as expected of a piece of junk made by a Hannam! Start, just start!"
Gritting her teeth, she turned the key a few times.
Peeeeeee-mi-mi-mi-mi-iik—!
She was already on the verge of tears, and it wasn't even funny... she felt choked up as the engine wouldn't start, seemingly on the verge of starting but not quite, when,
"Oppa, Oppa. Look at that. I think the car is broken. Oh my, what do we do."
"Wow. How old is that Morning? It's really old..."
A couple passing by was peeking over at her because of the loud ignition sound.
Su-yeon momentarily made eye contact with the man who was peeking over.
"...Ahem. C-can I help you?"
"Oppa!?"
The man who saw Su-yeon's face tried to offer exaggerated kindness with an awkward smile, but.
"Hic... I-I don't need it."
"What? What did you say?"
"I don't need some small-dicked Hannam!!!"
Su-yeon, bursting into tears, slammed her head onto the steering wheel and wailed.
Hoooooonk——!!
"Eek! Is she crazy! Oppa, let's go quickly."
"B-but. She looks like she's crying..."
"Hey! You better answer me straight! Is it me or her!"
"O-obviously—"
The man, unable to let go of his lingering attachment, glanced at Su-yeon, but seeing her still burying her face in the steering wheel, he made a quick judgment.
"Obviously it's my baby~"
Hoooooonk—!!
"Eek! I'm going to lose my mind!! Oppa, let's go quickly!"
Having exterminated the pair of cockroaches, Su-yeon finally lifted her face from the steering wheel and wore a look of detachment.
"...Fuck. Life is shit."
Su-yeon looked back on her life.
Where did it all start to go wrong?
Kang Su-yeon.
29 years old (international age).
An elite from Korea (Women's) University, where the best intellectuals in Korea are said to gather.
There are some unnecessary characters inserted here and there, but anyway, a fact is a fact. Fact.
"I shouldn't have joined a company like this."
Su-yeon lamented.
Kang Su-yeon, who had lived a life with nothing to envy, with a pretty face that drew attention wherever she went and a natural figure, started to see her life go off track when she joined her current workplace, Woman Power Magazine.
The company Su-yeon works for specializes in publishing newspapers and magazines, and although it hasn't even been 10 years since its founding, it was able to grow significantly under the previous-previous administration, which poured out female-preferential policies while promoting the motto of being a company for women.
The company, which seemed like it would continue to succeed as the vanguard and core of the previous-previous administration's women's policies, was facing a major backlash as the administration changed and the social atmosphere shifted. To the point where they now had to worry about shutting down.
Su-yeon, whose specs were a little... just a l~ittle lacking, was able to join the company through the Women's Quota System when the company was at its peak. And now that the company is collapsing, she is being counted as the #1 candidate for layoff.
Actually, it's not because Su-yeon lacks ability.
From the start, the only people who work properly are the few male employees with solid specs.
The women who make up the majority of the company are on par with Su-yeon, who joined through the Women's Quota System... no, there's a truckload of them who are even worse than Su-yeon.
Even so, the reason Su-yeon is #1 on the list for resignation is...
"Fucking feminist bullshit. I'm not doing this, it's too dirty."
Simply because she was pretty.
Su-yeon was negative about feminism before joining the company.
She was born pretty and had lived her life being pampered by men, so what kind of feminism was there to talk about?
However, they say women are creatures of empathy, and as she spent time with colleagues at work who kept saying "Hannam, Hannam," she had a great awakening of "Ah! Hannam were the bad ones!"... or rather, she had been cosplaying as a feminist to escape the gloomy bullying, but now she had been driven to a situation where even that was useless.
Su-yeon, who got out of the old Morning that still wouldn't start, looked up at the sky.
A bright, clear sky.
"I don't know anymore. Whatever happens, happens."
After walking aimlessly for a while.
Now that she had resolved to quit, her head felt clear and her heart felt refreshed for the first time in a while.
Yeah. Let's not live like this anymore.
I'll start dating again, and do my makeup properly... As she walked for a while like that, Su-yeon's field of vision opened up, and a wide plaza appeared.
"Stretch properly!"
"Don't get injured by warming up half-heartedly, do it properly."
No. That place wasn't a plaza.
"...A soccer field?"
It was a soccer field right before a match was about to start.
Su-yeon, who was staring blankly down at the soccer field, suddenly discovered a scene that caught her eye.
A pretty boy laughing, chatting, and joking around with a handsome Hannam next to him.
"H-he's handsome."
He was so handsome that his face was practically shining.
Su-yeon, without realizing it, lifted the telephoto camera hanging on her shoulder and click, took a picture.
"Gasp! Wh-what did I just do? Taking this precious photo of a Hannam instead of a Western man—"
Su-yeon, who had belatedly come to her senses at the sound of the camera... no, who still hadn't come to her senses,
"...But he's better than a Western man. Aww, what did he eat growing up to be so handsome. It's healing~"
With the power of Charm 95, she was finally able to regain her sanity.
"Yeah. As expected, Korean women go with Korean men."
She smiled hee~ and lifted the camera again, starting to take pictures frantically, click click.
And that was the day Kang Su-yeon, the dedicated reporter who always provides exclusive interviews with Hong Min-jun, first met Hong Min-jun.